Why discus are easier 2nd time around.

[remikz]

Even though i'm very new to keeping discus, i've learned so much about water chemistry, keeping discus and even breeding them (one day :)).

Most of the knowledge I have gathered came from this board so i'd like to thank you all for that, and for continuing to help me in the future!

Looking back on my 2 months of being Discus Dad, I cringe at all the mistakes I have made along the way. I know why my tank and fish are not perfect, why i've had disease problems and exactly how to avoid these issues in the future. I hope nobody thinks it's innapropriate of me to post this because i'm no expert, but i'm learning from my fish and from simplydiscus.com


1. If you don't have a quarrantine tank, never buy fish from a LFS and always buy all your fish in one go. Buy from a breeder, and make sure they are top quality! Local Fish Shops and major fish stores mostly always have some disease and ill fish, NO MATTER WHAT.

2. If you keep more than one tank or are introducing new fish to an existing tank, quarrantine, quarrantine, quarrantine, quarrantine.

3. Water chemistry is more important than ever before. Find out what you need it to be, and try to keep it there. Temp, Ph, TDS, GH and KH.

4. Water changes, probably 70% of all posts on this board will tell you why w/c is so important to discus.



I know there is much much more, but it these are the mistakes I have made or would have made being new to discus. I will never make these mistakes again and I will always keep the best fish!

A lot of people keep discus in poor conditions and claim to have no problems. But poor condition tank = poor condition fish. These people just don't notice. The experts certainly will. To have the greatest discus you must really care for them.

Thank you simplydiscus.com

---Ian

[RyanH]

Well put remikz. I think we have all made some mistakes with our fish that makes us look back and cringe! I read a book about Discus recently (I think it was by Mary Sweeney) in the preface she wrote:

"I dedicate this book to all of the wonderful Discus that did not survive the learning curve."

Not only did that bring a smile to my face because it made me take a look at my own mistakes (past and future), but it also made me realize that fish-keepers that are now publishing books have also screwed up before as well. :)

Although mistakes can be expensive and frustrating I think they should be taken in stride looked on as a learning experience.

[acorn54]

for me discus second time around hasn't happened yet
but i have learned alot from my personal experiences first time around. the biggest revalation is that there is alot of lousy discus stock in the united states. i have bought from 4 different breeders/importers and i have had a combination of runts,poor coloring,misrepresentation of what the fish variety is,and premature deaths. this was five years ago. i have some nice ones from the ones i bought but the number of poor specimens was very high

[RyanH]

I've had similar problems in my area as well. Some dealers are pretty quick to sell junk fish if they think they can get away with it. I have a show tank full of stunted fish if anyone needs proof of my ignorance. :-[

Fortunately, I have a better idea of what to look for in fish now than when I first got started. I also have gotten in the habit of buying juveniles and raising them myself versus buying adult fish. If they are going to be sickly or stunted it won't be because of being poorly cared for.

I think we should have a black list of retailers and distributors that try to push crap fish on people. If I wasn't concerned about getting sued I probably would have done something like that already. :-\

[April]

Ian. great post. and thank-you for the compliments. if we help even a few people...then it makes us smile.... as we have all been there. and we all have someone who has inspired us or helped us somehow.
I love hearing the success stories and love seeing the pics of new fish everyone gets and watching them grow.
on the whole..i think alot of new discus owners who we meet here have done very well with their first groups of fish.

[yippy]

Id like to say the same thing, that you guys are all very helpful. ive had discus for nearly 2 years and have been on other fish forums and was told i was being stupid for doing 2 x 50%water changes a week along with daily gravel vacs (even though i hardly have any gravel!) and that i was "shocking" my discus with too much water change. I knew in my heart that i was right by doing this and felt i could do even changes but they make you feel like an idiot on some sites because you dont know what you are talking about after only 2 years of keeping discus. even my boyfriend was reading these comments and saying i was going to kill the fish with kindness and so on. But you guys all seem to agree water is the key, So now i am going to do more changes, i have a great hose set up and i enjoy doing it. Ive been licky, ive only ost one discus and that was because my boyfriend got up at 4am one when it was still dark and turned the lights on and the poor thing banged his head against the glass and dropped. There is always something new to learn and i am learning alot on here so thanks guys.
Kerry (Yippy)

[yippy]

Ps: Talking about blacklisting people with junk fish - its a good idea - have a look at www.bettatalk.com
It is a betta site, but shes sick of people ripping her off so now shes made a blacklist and the reason why theyre on it! Shes very humorous and well worth reading her site even if you dont like bettas. If you go there make sure you have heaps of time - her site has built to hundreds of pages.
Yippy

[Nightowl]

"Buy from a breeder" ; that's good advice, although I have better fish from lfs than one breeder who I won't mention. The idea of blacklisting is a bit harsh, IMO. Part of being a good discus keeper is learning to buy good quality fish in the first place. This way you only have to look in the mirror to see the culprit. Take several groups of fish from same spawn & let different folks raise them. Will everyone be equally satisfied? Usually not.... Of course, there is variance from fish to fish, even in same spawn, but blacklisting is something that could get out of hand in a hurry, and be counterproductive to the entire discus hobby as well. Again, J M O !!!!! Later,J(Nightowl) :vanish:

[yippy]

I do tend to agree with nightowl in one respect, but people i know who have been inexperienced with discus have been sold real bad ones, dark coloured etc, full of worms, but around here there arent many breeders and most shops wont even stock discus. I was inexperience with discus when i got mine but I was lucky to get healthy fish from a local breeder but she has since finished up in the fish business to spend more time with her children. i agree once youre experienced enough to know yourself what youre buying you only have yourself to blame. Theres one shop here that have a variety of fish including a few sickly looking discus, and the 2 times i have been in there buying linament for horses (its a big pet warehouse) all but a couple of their bettas were dead and some had been there for so long they had fungus growing off them. These sort of people should be reported IMO. I said nothing the first time i was there and saw this, but the the second time i said something and the owner said "yeah love, we are havin a bit of trouble with our heating in the fish department" i said " yeah? and you have been for a long time because i was here 3 months ago looking at the same thing" How can people like that stay in business is my worry!
Yippy

[RyanH]

You guys are probably right about the idea of a blacklist not being a good idea. People just have to make sure they are educated before they buy their fish and have an idea of what to look for before they take the plunge. I have learned to pretty much not trust anything a dealer says and judge the quality of the fish myself. Since becoming better informed about Discus, I have caught several dealers in blatent lies. This just reinforces my feelings of making sure that you know what you are looking for before walking into a shop or hatchery.

or as the Romans used to say, "Caveat Emptor" (let the buyer beware)

[RAWesolowski]

Nice thing about this forum and daah is that you really don't need a "blacklist". People on these boards let you know who's reputable. Lack of comment generally means no experiience or bad experience.

[RyanH]

Hey Bob,

Are there any good places to buy Discus in the K-Zoo area? I live in Allendale (GVSU) and I could use a good excuse for a short road trip.

[Discus_KC]

I will fall into this category when I restock. In many ways, I'm so thankful in a way that I do start over. It will give me the chance to do things the way I want. Once your tanks are full, any major project gets put on the back burner with the care of the existing fish. Maybe not for most of you, but for me I had no time nor room to set up more tanks and then take the system down to rebuild.

So I will take it slow and try to do it right !!!! I will be relying on my friends for imput and ideas !!!!!!!

Jack

[April]

great jack. and just think.shiny brand new tanks waiting for you when you get back!!!